A variety of container closures have been developed or proposed wherein an initial opening of a lid provides visual evidence of such an occurrence—even after the lid has been subsequently closed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,875,907 and 6,269,986 each discloses a closure that is adapted for mounting on a container and that has a body and a lid. The closure includes a tamper-indicating member connected to the body of the closure. The tamper-indicating member is also connected along a frangible junction to the lid of the closure. When the tamper-indicating member is depressed, the frangible junction is broken to provide an indication that the closure may have been previously opened.
While the above-discussed type of closure can function well for the purposes for which it has been designed, the inventors of the present invention have discovered that it would be desirable to provide an improved tamper-evident closure which could (1) accommodate (a) convenient molding of the closure with the lid in an initially open position, and (b) subsequent closing of the lid by the manufacturer with a simple and easy manipulation to place the closure in its fully closed, tamper-indicating, ready condition for eventual installation on a container and delivery to a user, (2) readily incorporate certain types of lids and/or flow control elements, (3) incorporate the tamper-evident features which could optionally be designed to blend in with, or enhance, the cosmetic appearance of the closure, prior to the initial opening by the consumer, (4) optionally be designed to be molded as one piece, including the lid, body, and tamper-indicating features, and (5) be initially opened relatively easily by the user.
The inventors have also discovered that it would be desirable if, after the tamper-indicating feature of such an improved closure has been initially breached, the closure presented a very clear indication of that breach, without the creation of a separate scrap piece requiring disposal.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered how to construct such an improved tamper-evident or tamper-indicating closure which can accommodate designs having one or more of the above-discussed benefits and features.